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THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 


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WILLIAM    WATSON 


THE    HERALDS 
OF  THE   DAWN 

A  PLAY  IN  EIGHT  SCENES 

BY 

WILLIAM   WATSON 


NEW  YORK 

JOHN   LANE    COMPANY 

MCMXII 


COPYRIGHT,  1912 
BY  JOHN  LANE  COMPANY 


THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS,   CAMBRIDGE,  U.S.A. 


TO  MY  WIFE, 

but  for  whom  it  would  not  have  been  written, 

I  dedicate  this  play. 

w.  w. 

Nenu  York 
Feb.  ioy 


DRAMATIS  PERSONS 

MEN 

CLOTAIRE King  of  Ideonia 

PRINCE  HESPERUS The  King's  Son 

POLITIAN 


PARMENIO 


Ministers  of  State 


ERMINIUS 

VOLMAR Commander  of  the  Army 

HILDERIC One  of  Volmar's  Captains 

PETRUS A  Judge 

BRASIDAS A  Leader  of  the  People 

ABBO  OF  THE  WOODS   ....  A  Hunter  and  Trapper 

GARLIC 

PUNCHEON 

WOMEN 
QUEEN  ADALIND  VENORA 

ZORAYA 
Guards,  soldiers,  attendants,  ushers,  and  others. 


SCENE:  —  AT   FIRST  THE   BORDERS   OF   IDEONIA; 
AFTERWARDS,  PHANTASMOPOL,  THE  CAPITOL. 

TIME:  —  THE  MORROW  OF  ANTIQUITY. 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 


THE 
HERALDS    OF    THE    DAWN 

A   PLAY   IN   EIGHT  SCENES 

SCENE  I 

Volmar^s  camp  among  the  woods  on  the  borders  of 
Ideonia. 

Night-time.  Beside  a  stream,  Volmar's  tent. 
VOLMAR.  HILDERIC.  A  sentinel.  Further  off, 
soldiers  sleeping  on  the  ground. 

VOLMAR 

To-day  six  months  ago,  good  Hilderic, 

We  camped  at  this  same  place  on  the  outward 

march, 

And  had  our  first  brush  with  the  enemy. 
It  seemed  as  if  each  tuft  of  waving  grass, 
And  every  bramble  and  whin-bush,  hid  a  foe. 
Where  are  they  now? 

HILDERIC 

We  left  them  to  the  kite 
And  warhawk,  and  the  grey  wolf  of  the  wood. 

ii 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

VO  LM A  R 

This  stream,  that  looks  so  humble  a  rillet,  marks 
The  boundary  'twixt  their  country  and  our  own. 
Here  is  our  native  soil,  our  fatherland,  — 
There,  Hilderic,  the  Kingdom  we  have  conquered. 

HILDERIC 
This  brook  ran  red  that  night  thou  speakest  of. 

v  o  L  M  A  R 

Ay,  it  did  so!    But  Nature  soon  enough 
Washes  her  hands  of  us  and  all  we  do. 
To-night  the  stream  runs  clear  as  hermit's  spring, 
And  when  I  drank  of  it  this  afternoon 
It  had  no  taste  of  slaughter.  —  Thou  hast  now 
Three  hours  for  sleep,  and  then  at  dawn  we  march. 

HILDERIC 
For  home! 

VO  LM A  R 

For  home!    Goodnight. 

HILDERIC 

Goodnight,  my  lord. 

(Exit  HILDERIC.  VOLMAR  goes  into  his  tent,  lies 
down  and  falls  asleep.  Enter,  stealthily,  from 
a  thicket  on  the  further  side  of  the  stream,  ABBO 
of  the  Woods.  The  sentinel  leans  against  a  ledge 
of  rock,  nods  and  dozes.} 

12 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

A  B  B  O 

So  this  is  how  their  lordly  one  is  guarded  — 
The  sentry  drowsed  and  nodding  at  his  post! 
I  Ve  slipped  past  all  the  others,  and  unseen 
Have  threaded  these  dark  woodlands,  where  I  know 
Each  tree  and  stone,  and  every  cleft  and  cave. 
Now  in  his  tent  the  general  is  asleep. 
I  do  not  doubt  but  that  he  sleeps  as  well 
As  if  he  had  not  on  his  soul  one  sin: 
The  wicked  sleep  as  soundly  as  the  good. 
Yea,  it  is  not  the  Wronger,  but  the  Wronged, 
That  lies  awake  with  raging  thoughts,  as  I 
So  oft  have  done.    If  I  can  reach  him  now  — 
One  stroke  —  and  I  shall  be  avenged  upon  him, 
And  the  next  moment,  in  another  world, 
He 's  cringing  for  God's  mercy.  Then — what  then  ? 
If  I  should  fall  alive  into  their  hands? 
They  '11  cut  and  carve  me  out  of  human  shape, 
And  laugh  as  they  look  on.    I  '11  hazard  it. 
(ABBO  moves  forward  to  cross  the  stream.    A  loose 
stone  slips  from  under  his  foot  with  a  loud 
noise.     The  sentinel  looks  up.     Other  soldiers 
start  from  their  sleep  on  the  ground.    VOLMAR 
raises  his  head  and  listens.     ABBO,   unper- 
ceived,  draws  back  into  the  thicket.) 


SCENE   II 

A  street.  On  ike  left,  the  King's  palace,  ap- 
proached by  a  flight  of  steps.  On  the  right, 
at  a  little  distance,  a  fortress-prison.  BRASIDAS. 
PUNCHEON.  GARLIC.  Numerous  citizens  of  various 
grade.  A  cripple.  A  beggar. 

BRASIDAS 

This  will  I  say:    the  war,  that  now  hath  clanged 
And  thundered  to  its  end,  I  loved  not  greatly; 
But  its  rich  fruits,  whether  indeed  they  do  us 
Much  honour  in  the  harvesting  or  no, 
Will  fill  the  royal  treasury  to  o'erflowing, 
And  leave  small  pretext  for  those  cruel  exactions 
Whereby  your  substance  is  so  taxed  away. 

FIRST    CITIZEN 

They  tax  our  corn,  oil,  timber,  metals,  wool  — 
They  tax  our  wine  — 

PUNCHEON 

Ay,  there 's  a  grievous  impost  — 
A  duty  on  good-fellowship,  wit,  and  joy. 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

FIRST     CITIZEN 

How  if  the  soldiers  bring  more  glory  home 
Than  booty? 

BRASIDAS 

There'll  be  waggon-loads  of  both, 
In  endless  train  choking  the  frantic  streets, 
Hour  by  mad  hour. 

SECOND     CITIZEN 

May  all  be  well!    Yet  somehow 
There's  nothing  prancing  in  men's  hearts. 

CRIPPLE 

Last  night 
A  star  fell  like  a  torch  through  the  lit  sky. 

THIRD     CITIZEN 

They  say  that  from  his  bedchamber  the  King 
Saw  it,  and  fearing  much  what  it  might  bode 
Could  sleep  no  more. 

BRASIDAS 

Uneasy  consciences 
Take  fright  at  lesser  things  than  falling  stars. 

FOURTH    CITIZEN 

Bold  words,  in  such  a  place!   If  we  had  said  them, 
Yon  bastille  were  our  lodging. 

15 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

BRASIDAS 

Well,  God  knows, 

Its  black  and  hungry  mouth  may  soon  enough 
Gape  for  me  too. 

SECOND     CITIZEN 

Nay,  Brasidas  in  prison 
Would  as  a  martyr  be  more  formidable 
Than  Brasidas  free,  and  therein  lies  thy  safety. 

FIRST    ARTISAN 

Make  way  there  for  the  lord  Parmenio. 

(Enter  PARMENIO,  going  towards  the  palace  steps.} 

FIRST    ARTISAN 

My  lord,  what  of  the  bread-tax? 

SECOND    ARTISAN 

And  the  salt-tax? 

THIRD    ARTISAN 

Ay,  and  the  poll-tax? 

FOURTH    ARTISAN 

And  the  hearth-tax? 
16 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

FIRST    ARTISAN 

Are 

These  to  be  done  away  with?    or  the  burden 
A  little  better  suited  to  the  back? 

PUNCHEON 

What  of  those  crushing  wine-duties,  my  lord? 

BEGGAR 

We  've  heard  that  doles  and  bounties  are  to  be 
Given  to  the  poor. 

GARLIC 

And  the  deserving  idle. 

FIRST    ARTISAN 

Silence,  thou  simpleton. 

SECOND    ARTISAN 

Is  it  true  our  debts 
Are  to  be  blotted  out? 

BEGGAR 

Are  prisoned  folk 
To  have  their  liberty? 

GARLIC 

And  old  offenders 
To  be  rewarded? 

'7 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

THIRD    ARTISAN 

Fool,  tie  up  thy  tongue. 

FOURTH    ARTISAN 

Shall  we  have  cheaper  food? 


FIRST    ARTISAN 

And  cheaper  justice? 

(PARMENIO,  having  ascended  the  palace  steps, 
pauses  at  the  threshold  and  faces  his  inter- 
rogators.') 

PARMENIO 

Good  people,  is  it  seemly,  at  the  King's 
Own  door,  to  pelt  me  with  your  questions  thus? 
I  go  to  him  even  now,  that  I  may  learn 
From  his  own  mouth  his  full  and  fixed  intent 
Touching  the  things  you  speak  of,  and  to-morrow 
Yourselves  shall  learn  it  too. 


FIRST    CITIZEN 

Give  us  to-day 

At  least  an  inkling  of  it.    We  all  know 
That  you  live  close  to  the  King's  mind. 


18 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

PARMENIO 

A  King's 

Mind  is  so  sentinelled  and  guarded,  one 
May  live  hard  by  it  and  ne'er  have  seen  within. 
Yet,  as  I  would  not  you  should  go  away 
Famished  for  news,  such  knowledge  as  is  mine 
I  will  impart.     'T  is  known  to  you  already 
That  any  day,  and  almost  any  hour, 
May  witness  the  return  of  glorious  Volmar, 
Our  greatest  soldier,  and  perfect  flower  of  war, 
From  conquest  of  the  hereditary  foe, 
Bringing  his  captives  with  him,  and  his  spoil, 
Trophies,  and  treasure.    Now  the  King  intends 
That  this  same  treasure,  which  is  rumoured  vast. 
Shall  be  applied  to  the  easing  of  that  burden, 
That  hard  load  of  taxation,  borne  by  you 
Not  without  murmur,  and  upon  you  laid 
With  most  reluctant  hand.    And  furthermore, 
From  the  proud  hour  of  Volmar's  homecoming, 
The  King  ordains  a  seven  days'  festival 
For  all  his  people,  his  own  revenue 
To  bear  the  cost.     Lastly,  so  royal  are 
The  scope  and  range  of  his  benevolence, 
He  will  decree  the  pardon  and  release 
Of  all  such  men  in  prison  — 

(hesitating) 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

POLITIAN 

(coming  from  within  the  palace  and  standing  be- 
side PARMENIO) 

As  may  be  freed 
With  safety  to  the  state. 

PARMENIO 

Ev'n  so,  my  lord 

Politian.     Now,  good  people,  you  have  heard 
The  King's  benign  intentions.     Go  you  therefore 
To  your  own  homes,  with  loyal  and  pious  hearts, 
Thanking  yon  Heaven  that  hath  so  blessed  our 
arms. 

(Exit  POLITIAN) 

FIRST     CITIZEN 

Long  live  the  King. 

SECOND     CITIZEN 

Long  live  the  Count  Parmenio. 

FIRST    ARTISAN 

Taxation  abolished! 

THIRD    CITIZEN 

Nay,  nay,  not  so  fast. 

20 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

GARLIC 

A  seven  weeks'  feast! 

SECOND    ARTISAN 

Seven  days,  old  maunderer. 

THIRD    ARTISAN 

Come,  let  us  spread  the  news. 

PUNCHEON 

If  they  '11  repeal 
Those  taxes  on  conviviality  — 

SECOND    ARTISAN 

Yes,  let  us  spread  the  news.     'T  is  a  great  day. 

GARLIC 

There  has  not  been  its  like  since  the  millennium. 

(Exeunt  GARLIC  and  PUNCHEON.     Others,  on  the 

point  of  going,  remain  when  BRASIDAS  speaks.) 

BRASIDAS 

Honoured  Parmenio,  you  are  known  to  all 
As  one  not  hard  to  approach,  when  men  crave  light 
On  things   that  touch  their  bosoms.      Will  you 
tell  us 

21 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

What  order  of  offenders  these  may  be, 
For  whom  their  prison  doors  are  to  fly  open? 
The  common  felon?   the  prowling  man  of  prey? 
The  cutpurse  and  the  cut-throat?    Is  it  to  these 
You  '11  grant  a  new  lease  of  the  sun  and  sky? 

PARMENIO 

Brasidas,  they  whose  judgment  guides  this  realm 

Allow  you  a  large  liberty  of  speech: 

Allow  to  them  some  liberty  of  silence. 

In  statecraft  there  are  things  that  cannot  be 

As  public  as  a  peepshow  at  a  fair. 

The  council  chamber  of  a  King  is  secret, 

Even  as  the  heart  and  inwards  of  thy  body 

Are  secret.    To  uncover  their  hid  workings 

Were  to  destroy  thee,  body  and  heart  and  all. 

BRASIDAS 

Oh,  there  's  a  world  of  secret  things,  my  lord, 
You've  touched  not  on;    and  since  you  will  not 

tell  me 

What  men  are  to  be  freed,  who  then  are  they 
You    mean    to    keep    in   bonds?      Are    they   the 

wretches 
Denounced,  in  secret,  for  what  cause  we  know  not, 

And  after  secret  trial  hurried  down 

22 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

Where  secret  night  hugs  them  with  iron  arms? 
'T  is  a  plain  question,  worth  a  plain  reply. 

PARMENIO 

You  call  your  words  a  question:   they  are  rather 
An  accusation  and  a  wild  indictment 
Hurled  against  law  and  justice. 

B  R  A  S  I  D  A  S 

Law  and  justice! 

When  was  I  not  the  fieriest  of  their  lovers  ? 
Those  I  indict  are  they  that  make  the  law 
A  byword  and  a  hissing.    Turn  not  thou 
Away,  but  hear  me.     In  yon  prison-house 
My  father  suffers  for  a  deed  he  did  not, 
And  there  is  he  in  fetters,  where  this  light 
We  call  impartial  sends  him  scarce  a  beam. 
Oh,  justice  is  a  word  that  you  keep  near  you, 
But  she,  Justice  herself,  hath  long  been  banished, 
And  somewhere  far  from  all  the  abodes  of  Law 
Her  place  of  exile  is. 

PARMENIO* 

Your  private  griefs 

Are  known,  and  in  some  measure  may  be  held 
To  excuse  the  violence  of  your  tongue.    But  try  not 

23 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

The  patience  of  Authority  too  far. 
Insulted  Power  can  any  time  cut  short 
The  freedom  you  misuse. 

BRASIDAS 

I  do  defy  it 

To  lay  a  hand  upon  me.    With  a  signal 
I  could  call  forth  a  host  as  from  the  ground, 
Who,  if  you  dared  to  cast  me  in  yon  prison, 
Would  batter  down  its  walls  founded  in  blood, 
Its  doors  dabbled  with  blood,  its  towers  that  rise 
Out  of  a  fen  and  rank  morass  of  blood, 
Unpacified  blood,  not  to  be  quieted, 
Not  to  be  put  to  sleep  in  the  earth  at  all. 
(Exit) 

PARMENIO 

A  man  so  covered  with  a  foam  of  words 
Proclaims  himself  bankrupt  of  argument. 
(Exit  into  palace) 

FIRST    ARTISAN 

Well,  that  is  as  it  may  be. 

SECOND    ARTISAN 

For  my  part, 

I  think  our  Brasidas  had  the  best  of  it. 

24 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

THIRD    ARTISAN 

We  could  see  plainly  which  one  feared  the  other. 

A    CITIZEN 

You  all  must  own,  Parmenio  bears  no  blemish 
As  husband,  father,  or  friend. 

THIRD    ARTISAN 

Why,  there's  an  adage, 

'The  greatest  villains  never  break  a  law,' — 
Not  that  I  hint  at  villainy  in  his  lordship. 

FOURTH    ARTISAN 

Come,  let's  remember  in  what  place  we  stand. 
They  say  the  gallows  hath  put  some  to  silence 
Because  they  thought  too  loudly. 

(Re-enter  PUNCHEON) 

FIFTH    ARTISAN 

As  for  me, 

I  've  a  great  mind  to  go  about  my  business; 
For  I  begin  to  think  that  politics  are 
A  study  should  be  left  to  learned  men, 
Such  as  astronomers,  and  the  best-born  clergy. 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

PUNCHEON 

There  be  few  thirstier  studies.     It  begets 
A  marvellous  great  drouth  in  a  man's  throat. 

FIFTH    ARTISAN 

My  study  is  mending  shoes. 

GARLIC 

Mend  thou  thy  manners, 

And  stand  not  gabbling  'neath  the  very  nose 
Of  greatness.     Seest  thou  not  yon  lords? 

(Enter  from  the  palace  POLITIAN  and  PARMENIO, 
who  stand  in  the  doorway.) 

THIRD    ARTISAN 

They  look 
Severely  on  us. 

FOURTH    ARTISAN 

Our  free  speech  has  been 
O'erheard. 

FIRST    CITIZEN 

I  am  called  hence  on  urgent  business. 


26 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

SECOND     CITIZEN 

Mine  own  affairs  press  furiously. 

THIRD     CITIZEN 

Mine,  too, 
Call  loudly  for  me. 

FOURTH     CITIZEN 

Come,  let  us  begone. 

(Exeunt  all  persons  in  the  street.     POLITIAN  and 
PARMENIO  descend  the  steps.} 

POLITIAN 

Mind  you,  I  do  not  say  that  the  belief 
In  signs  and  omens  and  the  like  is  nought 
But  vulgar  superstition;    for  indeed 
I  never  did  deny  that  these  things  are. 
But  why  should  we  befog  our  intellects 
With  such  dark  matters?     Life  is  not  too  clear 
At  broadest  noonday,  and  these  messages 
Dropt  from  the  void  are  written  in  a  cypher 
Of  which  we  lack  the  key. 

PARMENIO 

True,  true  enough; 

But  meet  you  not  a  strange  mood  in  the  land? 

27 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

No  gaiety  gambols  by  —  and  here  and  there 
Men  congregate  like  birds  that  have  forewarning 
Of  dread  events  in  Nature. 

POLITIAN 

We'll  divert 

Their  minds  with  shows  and  pageantry.    Such  toys 
Put  that  great  babe,  the  People,  in  good  humour. 

(Enter  ZORAYA) 

But  who  is  this?    Old  as  the  cliffs  she  seems, 
Yet  as  unbowed  as  they  are.      What  would'st 
thou  with  us? 

ZORAYA 

My  errand  is  to  speak  unto  the  King. 

POLITIAN 

Impossible.    He  is  sick,  and  hath  much  need 
Of  slumber. 

ZORAYA 

They  that  sent  me  do  not  sleep. 

POLITIAN 

And  who  are  they,  good  dame? 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

ZO  R A  Y A 

They  are  the  Powers 
That  spin  the  secret  threads  of  life  and  death. 

PARMENIO 

Thou  art  she  the  people  call  the  prophetess? 

ZO  RAY A 

Too  great  a  title.    I  receive,  at  most, 
Blurred  intimations  of  what  is  to  be. 
I  am  tantalised  with  Heaven's  half-confidences. 
I  am  hurt  with  flying  splinters  of  the  truth. 

PARMENIO 

Speak  what  thou  knowest.    If  evil  be  at  hand, 
Whom  does  it  menace? 

Z  O  R  A  Y  A 

I  can  only  tell  thee 

That  doom  hangs  o'er  this  day,  and  here  will  fall. 
Nought  more  do  I  know. 

(Exit) 

PARMENIO 

She  gives  to  it  no  form 
Our  senses  can  lay  hold  on. 

29 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

P  O  L  I  T  I  A  N 

For  my  palate, 

This  diet  is  a  thought  too  translunary. 
I   have  lived   my  life  with   things   that  can   be 

touched, 
Tested,  and  weighed. 

PARMENIO 

Yet  there  are  other  things. 

POLITIAN 
Oh,   there   are  things   which   better  brains   than 

mine 

Ere  now  have  dashed  themselves  to  pieces  on; 
But  if  I  break  my  pate,  't  is  little  solace 
To  have  broken  it  sublimely,  against  the  stars. 
Here  our  ways  part  — 

PARMENIO 

Until  we  meet  again 
An  hour  past  noon. 

POLITIAN 

That  time  when  day,  like  me, 
Grows  middle-aged  and  unromantical. 
(Exit) 
3° 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

PARMENIO 

How  covetable  that  strictly  bounded  mind, 
No  shreds  of  twilight  hanging  loose  upon  it! 
Mine  own  leans  out  into  the  Dark,  and  so 
Hazards  its  very  balance,  in  hope  to  catch 
The  footfall  of  events  ere  they  arrive, 
And  from  the  Dark  wins  nothing.     'T  is  to  no 

purpose 

One  plays  the  eavesdropper  about  Fate's  door. 
The  servants  there  are  incorruptible, 
And  will  not  sell  one  secret  to  the  world. 

(Escti) 


SCENE   III 

A  room  in  the  palace  opening  widely  on  a  garden, 
which  lies  in  brilliant  sunshine.  PARMENIO  alone. 
To  him  enter  POLITIAN.  In  the  garden  an  aged 
gardener  at  work. 

POLITIAN 

Where  is  the  Prince? 

PARMENIO 

Here  I  await  him  now, 
But  he  forgets. 

POLITIAN 

His  studies  more  and  more 
Engross  him.    History,  polity,  jurisprudence  — 
He  takes  them  all  as  steps  by  which  to  mount 
Toward  the  crowning  art  of  ruling  men. 

PARMENIO 

He  does  not  seem  disdainful  of  the  art 
Of  wooing  women. 

32 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

POLITIAN 

There  I  think  he  trusts 
Rather  to  Nature.    Hark,  I  hear  his  foot. 

(Enter  PRINCE  HESPERUS) 

PARMENIO 

Highness,  what  news  of  Volmar? 

HESPERUS 

He  hath  crossed 

The  mountain  ridge  already.    His  messengers, 
Sent  spurring  on  before  him  at  the  dawn, 
Have  just  arrived.    Hither  he  marches  slowly, 
Much  cumbered  with  the  greatness  of  his  spoil, 
But  ere  the  daylight  droops  it  is  believed 
He  will  be  here.     There  is  a  grassy  knoll 
From  whose  smooth  shoulder  he  will  first  look 

down 

Upon  the  city.    Then  will  his  trumpeters 
Sound  out  their  taratantara  on  the  air, 
Blowing  a  silver  salutation  to  us. 
All  hath  gone  well  —  save  only  that  I  fear 
This  sickness  of  the  King  will  somewhat  tarnish 
Our  pomps,  and  give  a  greyness  and  a  pallor 
To  our  rejoicings. 

33 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

PARMENIO 

But  he  hath  great  power 
Of  rallying!     Is  he  not  in  the  garden? 

HESPERUS 

Ay,  there 
My  father  sits,  quite  worn  out  with  the  chase. 

PARMENIO 

The  chase? 

HESPERUS 

Three  nights  and  days  he  hath  hunted  sleep, 
And  still  it  flies  and  flies. 

(Enter  VENORA,  followed  by  a  waiting  maid  carry- 
ing needlework.} 

VENORA 

Do  I  break  in 
Upon  high  matters? 

HESPERUS 

Yes,  sweet  lady,  you 

Break  in  upon  them  as  the  snowdrop  breaks 
In  upon  January. 

34 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

I  cannot  do 
A  stitch  of  this  embroidery  to-day; 

(to  her  maid} 
Yet  leave  it.    (Exit  maid)  I  have  but  one  thought 

—  a  hero 
Comes  homeward,  beautiful  with  victory. 

POLITIAN 

A  great  and  fair  occasion.    I  remember 
One  very  different  —  the  return  of  Rainald 
From  miserable  defeat. 

HESPERUS 

Him  that  was  called 
A  whirlwind  on  a  warhorse  in  his  day. 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

A  weeping  welcome  would  be  his,  I  doubt  not. 

POLITIAN 
A  silent  one  —  save  for  a  few  that  hissed. 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

O  shameful!    I  'd  have  stripped  the  summer  of  all 
Its  roses,  to  make  sweet  the  ways  for  him. 

35 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

HESPERUS 

Alas,  we  oft  are  prone  to  do  as  they  did: 

The  man  whom  Fate  hath  scourged  we  scourge 

again. 
To-day  let  us  forget  these  things. 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

How  darkly 

Yon  cedar  reaches  out  its  solemn  arms! 
I  am  a  little  sorry  for  the  flowers 
That  have  to  live  so  near  it.    Their  gay  thoughts 
Seem  chidden  and  put  down  by  its  grave  bearing, 
And  for  their  sake  I  think  that  I  could  almost 
Wish  it  away. 

HESPERUS 

Ah,  know  you  not  its  story? 
Then  listen.    It  was  mine  ancestor  Alexius, 
The  founder  of  our  house,  who  long  ago 
Did  with  his  own  hand  set  that  tree  in  earth; 
And  't  is  affirmed  that  our  own  royal  fortunes 
Are  with  its  life  bound  up:   if  it  decay, 
We  wither;   while  it  flourishes  we  flourish; 
But  when  it  dies  we  fall  from  sovereignty, 
And  wear  a  crown  no  more. 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

Then  will  we  hope 

The  tree  keeps  young  in  heart,  for  I  have  heard, 
That  is  the  secret  of  long  life  in  all  things. 

(Enter,  in  the  garden,  the  KING.) 
Look  where  the  King  himself  walks  toward  it. 

HESPERUS 
With  what  slow,  feeble  steps! 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

Since  I  have  been 

A  guest  within  these  walls,  I  never  saw  him 
Leaning  upon  his  staff  so  wearily. 

KING 

(touching  the  tree  caressingly) 
Still  sound  —  still  sound  and  hale.     How  many 

a  time 

In  troubled  dreams  have  I  beheld  thee  maimed, 
And  stricken  through  with  death!     But  in  clear 

daylight 

Is  not  all  well  with  thee?    Art  thou  not  full 
Of  great  desire  to  live  for  ages  yet, 
And  is  not  great  desire  strong  as  resolve? 

37 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

Oh,  that  I  had  some  sovereign  prophylactic, 
Able  to  drive  far  from  thee  all  disease, 
And  all  decay  for  ever! 

HESPERUS 

Is  it  meet 
That  we  should  gaze  on  his  distempered  mood? 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

It  is  not  kind. 

HESPERUS 
Let's  forth  into  the  sun. 

KING 

(to  the  gardener) 

Fellow,  what  things  in  Nature  may  they  be, 
What  powers  of  earth  or  air,  that  most  do  threaten 
The  life  and  welfare  of  a  tree  like  this? 

GARDENER 

Why,  King,  a  tree  be  in  many  ways  mightily 
like  a  man.  Now  if  a  man  feed  well,  and  live 
orderly,  and  keep  a  still  mind,  and  have  no  very 
great  shocks  of  trouble,  he  may  come  to  a  wonder- 
ful great  age.  And  so  is  it  with  trees.  But  there 

38 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

is  the  weevil,  now,  that  eateth  through  the  bark: 
unto  the  tree  he  is  like  gnawing  care,  cark  and 
care,  and  in  time  he  will  let  in  death  to  the  very 
heartwood.  Then  there  be  long  droughts,  where- 
by the  tree  is  stinted  of  its  right  meat  and  drink: 
that  is  want  —  woful  want  —  and  good  trees  hath 
it  killed.  Then  there  are  fell  tempests  also; 
these  be  great  shocks,  and  they  do  not  come 
and  go  without  leaving  their  mark  somewhere, 
though  the  eye  may  see  it  not. 

KING 
How  long  might  this  cedar  yet  live? 

GARDENER 

Why,  King,  that  is  most  hard  to  tell.  But  it 
may  live  a  long  while  yet,  except  it  die  suddenly 
by  the  act  of  God. 

KING 

What  meanest  thou? 

GARDENER 

I  mean  naught  else  but  the  lightning,  the 
thunderbolt;  for  that  is  the  act  of  God. 


39 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

KING 

Ay,  truly.  And  if  the  lightning  should  split 
this  trunk,  I  fall  at  one  stroke  from  Kinghood  to 
an  estate  which  a  beggar  might  despise.  For  then 
should  I  and  mine  in  a  moment  be  but  as  your 
mock  princes,  your  hide-and-seek  pretenders,  that 
go  pranked  in  a  sort  of  out-at-elbow  greatness, 
and  posture  through  life,  demanding  the  rever- 
ence no  man  pays,  and  for  ever  sighing  over  lost 
occasions;  the  very  phantoms  of  majesty.  To 
come  to  that  in  a  twinkling!  How  terrible  a 
thing  may  be  the  act  of  God! 

GARDENER 

Oho,  there  is  rottenness  in  this  branch.  This 
in  time  would  open  the  door  to  death.  This 
bough  must  be  lopped  straightway. 

(Enter  QUEEN  in  the  garden) 

KING 

(The  gardener  lops  the  bough}  —  Hold,  sirrah! 
Oh,  what  is  this  that  thou  hast  done? 
I  felt  his  blade  strike  through  me  here. 
(He  staggers ,  the  QUEEN  supports  him.)    Queen!  — 

wife!  — 

40 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

What  ruthless  surgeon  have  they  sent  to  me, 
That  gashes  me  in  the  side,  and  leaves  unstaunched 
The  wound  his  bistoury  gave? 

QUEEN 

Nay,  King,  thou  hast 

No  hurt  at  all.    But  thy  long  sleepless  nights 
Have  sorely  jarred  thy  brain.    The  air  to-day 
Is  of  a  fevering  heat  in  this  closed  garden. 
I  know  not  if  't  is  good  for  thee. 

KING 

My  mind 

Fell  ghastly  sick  one  moment;  but  thy  voice 
Hath  ever  unto  me  a  healing  sound, 
And  I  am  well  again. 

QUEEN 

Let  us  go  in. 

(They  enter  the  palace.     Enter  from  another  side 
POLITIAN,  PARMENIO,  and  ERMINIUS.) 

ERMINIUS 

Your  Grace,  I  have  discovered  and  frustrated 
Yet  one  more  foul  design  —  these  letters  here 

41 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

Attest  its  deadly  nature  —  to  subvert 
Your  rule,  and  overthrow  the  throne  itself. 

KING 

(glancing  at  papers) 
The  air  hums  with  conspiracies  to  uproot  me. 

ERMINIUS 

Sir,  during  this  your  ever  blessed  reign, 
I  have  unearthed  in  all  ten  several  plots 
Against  your  Majesty's  most  sacred  life. 

P  O  L  I  T  I  A  N 

(aside) 
After  inventing  at  least  nine  of  them. 

ERMINIUS 

/ 

I  wait  not  the  full  hatching  of  these  treasons, 
But  crush  them  as  it  were  in  the  very  egg, 
Almost  before  there  is  — 

POLITIAN 
(aside) 

A  hen  to  lay  it. 


42 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

E  R  M  I  N  I  U  S 

(to  POLITIAN) 

My  lord,  I  wish  you  nobler  occupation 
Than  piecing  out  another's  sentences. 

POLITIAN 

Forgive  me;  it  was  a  crude  attempt  to  show 
How  I  esteem  the  diligence  and  despatch 
That  under  your  direction  have  so  marked 
Our  judicature. 

ERMINIUS 

If  this  be  irony, 

I  understand  it  not;  for  none  denies 
That  in  our  courts  Conviction  with  all  promptness 
Follows  upon  the  heels  of  Accusation, 
While  Execution  lags  not  far  behind. 

KING 

The  authors  of  this  plot  — 

ERMINIUS 

Are  all  in  irons. 

KING 

Why  is  yon  fellow  Brasidas  still  at  large? 
He  brawls  under  my  windows  like  a  fishwife, 

43 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

Hawking  sedition  of  so  rank  an  odour, 
Stale  fish  were  lavender  to  it. 

ERMINIUS 

Majesty, 

We  do  not  think  him  dangerous.     He  has 
Indeed  no  following  save  a  sort  of  men 
Whose  thought  will  never  ripen  into  action. 

KING 
Thought  has  been  tolerated  much  too  long. 

ERMINIUS 

It  is  indeed  most  troublous. 

KING 

Look  you  to  it 

That  from  to-morrow  he  be  in  safe  keeping. 
We  '11  see  whether  the  chastening  prison  diet 
Give  any  touch  of  fine  austerity 
To  an  eloquence  a  little  overblown. 

ERMINIUS 

Consider,  sir,  —  at  such  a  time,  —  the  man 
Being  so  popular  — 


44 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

POLITIAN 

And  to  do  him  justice 
He  is  rather  a  good  quality  of  windbag. 

PARMENIO 

I   have   no   cause  to   love   him.      But  oft  such 

men 
Are    to    the    State   as    boiling    springs    to    the 

earth, 
That  vent  her  plethera  and  so  cool  her  fever. 

KING 

Enough  —  enough  —  I  see  you  are  all  in  league 
With  them  that  plot  against  me.     It  is  to  you 
I  owe  it  that  I  cannot  sleep  i'  the  night 
For  menacing  voices,  yea,  and  furtive  hands, 
That  draw  aside  the  curtains  of  my  bed, 
And  only  fail  of  their  intent  by  some 
Mighty  interposition.     Get  you  gone 
Out  of  my  house.     What  are  you  —  counsellors  ? 
Counterfeits   rather  —  mimes  —  semblances  — 

spectres. 

Out  of  my  house:  is  it  not  haunted  enough 
Already?    Go. 
(Exeunt  POLITIAN,  PARMENIO,  and  ERMINIUS.) 


45 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

QUEEN 

Dear  lord,   these  altercations 
Do  only  leave  thee  shattered.     Put  all  discord 
Far  from  thy  mind,  and  let  us  walk  again 
Among  the  agreeing  flowers. 

KING 

Presently 

I  '11  to  the  garden  with  thee;  and  in  truth 
My  life  is  well-nigh  bounded  by  its  walls. 

(Paces  the  room,  then  pauses.) 
The  air  is  very  heavy  and  still.     Almost 
Would  night  seem  to  have  trespassed  upon  day, 
So  dark  it  grows. 

(Enter  HESPERUS  and  VENORA  from  the  garden.) 

HESPERUS 

Dark?    Doth  he  jest?     If  not, 
Then,  in  the  name  of  sunlight  and  all  splendour, 
What  fantasy  is  this?     Father,   I  think 
A  brighter  day  never  lit  up  the  world. 

KING 

Have  I  no  eyes?    For  all  permitted  uses 
I  have  a  pair  as  serviceable  as  thine.  — 
No  palsy  in  them. 

46 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

PRINCE 

But  the  spirit's  fatigue 
May  for  a  time  oppress  the  lucid  vision. 

KING 

I  tell  thee  I  can  see  as  well  as  thou; 

And  were  there  any  falseness  in  a  man, 

Though  he  were  mine  own   child,  I  should  espy 

it. 

I  '11  put  my  sight  to  the  test  before  you  all. 
Lady,  thy  finest,  thy  most  tenuous  needle! 
And  now  a  thread,  the  slenderest  filament 
Thou    hast.      If    quickly   through    this    needle's 

eye 

My  hand  persuade  the  silken  thread  to  travel, 
Wilt  thou  still  hold  me  purblind? 

(He  attempts  to  thread  the  needle.} 

Nay,  I  cannot! 

It  is  this  wan,  blear,  and  untimely  darkness 
Baffles  mine  eyes. 

PRINCE 

Strange,  he  should  talk  of  darkness, 
When  all  above  us  is  perfect  blue  and  gold, 
And  there  is  not  a  speck  upon  the  day. 


47 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

KING 

(looking  out  upon  the  garden) 
Still  darker.     It  is  that  great  silent  moment 
When  stands  the  packed  and  loaded  storm,  in 

doubt 

Whether  to  hurl  the  thunderstone  or  no. 
The  massy  blackness  builds  itself  as  a  wall, 
With  towers  that  topple  upon  us;  and  there  are 

faces, 

Puckering  enormous  brows.     Cannot  a  man 
Cherish  a  cedar  and  watch  over  it, 
And  ravel  up  his  heartstrings  with  its  fibres, 
But  soon  the  very  heavens  must  seek  it  out 
With  an  especial  malice,  to  work  its  ruin? 
Stay,  thunder,  in  thy  caverns !    Or  burst  forth, 
And  mow  down  all  the  forests  of  the  world 
With  thy  hot  scythe,   so  thou  but  spare  these 

boughs, 

Whereon  the  fate  of  Kings  yet  unconceived 
Trembles.    Ah,  now  the  storm  breaks  from  its 

moorings, 

And  the  forked  fury  with  its  jagged  leap 
Already  is  on  us.     It  strikes  the  tree:  the  cedar 
Is  riven  to  its  anguished  roots  —  it  falls  asunder, 
Crashing  unto  the  earth,  and  bears  us  with  it, 
Pulled  from  our  height  of  place  and  royal  station 

48 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

For  ever.     Now  am  I  a  King  no  more, 

And  thou  indeed  art  a  King's  son  no  more, 

And  thou  —  thou  art  queenly  still,  but  Queen  no 

more. 

Thy  hand,  —  here  will  I  rest  a  little. 
(He  totters  into  a  chair.} 

Tear  off 

This  purple  lie:  we  are  nothing  now  —  or  only 
A  proverb  of  the  unstableness  of  the  earth 
Beneath  the  feet  of  princes. 

QUEEN 

If  he  could 

But  sleep  awhile,  that  were  the  sovereign  balsam, 
And  waking  he  would  be  himself  again. 

(A  sound  of  distant  trumpets.     The  KING  lifts  his 
head  and  listens.) 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

Hark! 

HESPERUS 

It  is  Volmar  greeting  us  from  the  hill. 
(The  KING  sinks  into  sleep.) 
49 


SCENE    IV 

The    same.    HESPERUS,    booted    and    spurred. 
VENORA. 

HESPERUS 

The  hours  go  nimbly,  —  it  is  almost  time 
That  I  were  riding  forth  to  meet  the  hero. 

(Enter  QUEEN) 
How  is  my  father? 

QUEEN 

He  is  in  deep  sleep. 

HESPERUS 
His  chiefest  need! 

QUEEN 

I  think  that  when  he  wakens, 
The  thick  cloud  will  have  lifted  from  his  brain. 

HESPERUS 
And  he  will  be  again  the  King  we  knew. 

(Enter  an  usher) 
5° 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

9 

USHER 

An  officer  of  General  Count  Volmar's, 
Sent  in  advance  of  the  returning  forces, 
Craves  access  to  this  presence. 

HESPERUS 

Let  him  in. 
(Enter  HILDERIC) 
Is  it  not  Hilderic? 

HILDERIC 

It  is,  my  lord. 

HESPERUS 

A  brave  and  skilful  soldier.    Thou  art  welcome. 

HILDERIC 

The  General,  who  will  soon  be  at  the  gates, 
Hath  sent  me  on  as  bearer  of  this  gift 
Of  jewels,  if  her  grace  will  not  disdain  it. 

(Servants  bring  in  a  treasure-chest?) 

(To  QUEEN)      Lord  Volmar  bade  me  say,  that  he 

himself 

Hath  little  learning  in  their  qualities, 
And  should  there  be  among  them  things  of  nought, 
He  begs  you'll  pardon  both  the  gift  and  giver. 

5' 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

QUEEN 

Why,  here  are  sapphires,  rubies,  emeralds  — 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

Calcedony,  and  sardonyx,  and  jacinth  — 

QUEEN 

And  every  coveted  gem  the  earth  conceives. 
A  lordly  gift  indeed ! 

HESPERUS 

Thou  bringest  jewels, 
But  it  is  news  we  are  most  greedy  of. 
Draw  me  a  picture  of  the  war,  as  thou 
Didst  see  it. 

HILDERIC 

Well,  sir,  it  hath  been  a  fierce 
And  bitter  strife.     For  at  the  outset,  mark  you, 
The  enemy  did  so  stubbornly  resist, 
Even  to  the  point  of  wild  foolhardihood, 
That  nought  was  left  us  but  to  throw  away 
All  mercy,  and  strike  terror  deep  and  wide. 
Therefore  did  we  let  loose  those  trusty  hounds, 
Rapine  and  Fire;  and  ever  as  we  marched, 
We  lit  our  way  with  blazing  farms  and  hamlets. 
But  when  we  had  put  whole  cities  to  the  sword, 

5* 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

And  plentifully  had  sown  the  seed  of  famine 
By  wasting  all  their  fruitfullest  land,  the  rest 
Was  easy;  for  the  people's  spirit  then 
Being  broken,  they  looked  on  with  listless  gaze 
At  their  own  ruin,  and  we  now  bring  home 
The  spoil  of  temples  and  of  palaces, 
The  choicest  treasures  of  a  once  rich  Kingdom, 
Leaving  behind  us  peace,  and  a  great  stillness. 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

On  what  a  deep,  wide  base  of  other's  sorrow 
Is  built  to-day  our  joy! 

HILDERIC 

Ay,  madam,  that 

Is  true  enough;  but  't  is  the  sort  of  truth 
To  which  we  soldiers  have  to  give  the  go-by. 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

Yet  surely  there's  a  place  in  heroes'  hearts, 
Where  pity  for  the  fall'n  hath  lodging? 

HILDERIC 

Madam, 

I  have  a  little  son,  some  five  years  old, 
As  pretty  a  rogue  as  you  should  wish  to  see, 
Who  has  an  army  all  of  painted  tin  — 

53 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

A  standing  army  —  till  he  knocks  it  down  — 
And  then,  what  pity  has  he  for  the  fallen? 

HESPERUS 
Not  much,  I  '11  swear. 

HILDERIC 

Well,  as  he  plays  his  game, 
So  play  we  ours  —  upon  a  larger  table. 
But  play  it  on  a  kingdom  or  a  carpet, 
'T  is  still  a  game.     'T  is  the  great  Game  of  War. 

HESPERUS 

Which  men  play  basely  or  nobly,  as  themselves 
Are  base  or  noble.     But  take  it  as  we  will, 
Destruction  is  a  destroying,  slaughter  a  slaying. 
We  cannot  yet  make  war  as  we  make  love, 
Carry  a  citadel  by  a  serenade, 
And  ride  into  a  fortress  on  a  sigh. 
For  war  is  war,  its  chronicles  at  their  best 
Dreadful,  and  at  their  worst  an  inventory 
Of  all  that  is  in  Hell. 

QUEEN 

Come,  let  us  look 

Once  more  at  these  rare  treasures.     Amulets 

54 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

And  signets  —  cameos  and  intaglios  — 
Here's   wealth   enough   to   dower   an   emperor's 
daughter! 

HESPERUS 

Had  Volmar  flung  a  province  in  thy  lap, 
'T  were  scarce  a  richer  offering. 


v  E  N  o  R  A 

Do  but  mark 

The  wondrous  workmanship !  —  stone  after  stone 
Carved  into  shapes  of  life,  or  overwrought 
With  fancies,  dreams,  out  of  old  Grecian  story. 
Here  Hermes  binds  Ixion  to  the  wheel; 
Here  is  the  yet  unfreed  Andromeda; 
Here  Theseus  slays  the  Minotaur;  and  there 
A  naked  soul  quails  before  Rhadamanthus, 
The  cold  judge  of  the  dead.     On  this  is  figured 
The  maiden  goddess  of  the  bow  and  quiver; 
On  this,  Medea  drives  her  dragon  team. 
Lo,  Psyche  here,  at  last  made  one  with  Eros, 
And  all  her  sorrows  over.     And  on  that  sard 
You  may  behold  Achilles,  not  in  wrath, 
But  with  a  brow  of  pity,  as  when  he  mourned 
Penthesilea. 


55 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

HESPERUS 

Carven  in  green  jasper 

Here  stands  Actaeon,  by  his  own  hounds  torn, 
As  men  are  torn  by  their  own  fierce  desires, 
Who  hunt  delight  too  madly. 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

And  upon 

This  amethyst  Arachne  at  her  loom, 
Daring  to  match  the  perfect  woof  of  Pallas, 
Weaves  her  own  perfect  woe. 

QUEEN 

Hardly  a  gem 

But  tells  some  ancient  tale  —  alas,  how  oft 
A  mournful  one! 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

Here  is  a  priceless  stone 
So  rudely  wrought  it  must  be  wondrous  old. 

HESPERUS 

Rather  I  think  it  but  of  our  own  day. 
For  Art,  being  in  its  childhood  barbarous  ever, 
In  feeble  age  grows  barbarous  again, 
Its  second  childhood  reached.     Yet  here  is  not 

56 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

A  jewel  but  might  fittingly  adorn, 

At  tonight's  feast,  the  lovliest  brow  or  bosom. 

To-night,  good  Hilderic,  thy  great  commander, 

And  thou  and  all  his  captains,  sup  with  us; 

And  if  the  fare  be  worthy  of  the  guests, 

This  house  will  not  have  seen  a  goodlier  banquet. 

HILDERIC 

We'll  bring  brave  appetites,  I  '11  take  my  oath  on  't, 
And  some  of  us  a  valiant  thirst  to  boot. 

HESPERUS 

The  jocund  lamplight  hath  a  happier  secret 
In  drawing  heart  to  heart  than  the  staid  day, 
And  under  it  we'll  all  meet  joyously. 


57 


SCENE  V 

The  street  in  front  of  the  palace,  crowded  with 
all  sorts  of  persons  in  gay  attire,  amongst  them 
ABBO  of  the  Woods,  conspicuous  in  sombre  rustic 
garb.  In  the  doorway  of  the  palace,  the  QUEEN, 
HESPERUS,  VENORA,  POLITIAN,  PARMENIO,  and 
other  courtiers  and  ladies. 

ABBO 

Nay,  friend,  grudge  me  not  a  little  standing- 
room. 

FIRST    CITIZEN 

But  thou  requirest  so  much  of  it.  Thou  art 
made  on  such  a  large  pattern. 

ABBO 

Well,  well,  we  are  none  of  us  built  after  our  own 
planning  —  else  thy  nose  would  have  been  shorter. 

CHORUS     OF    VOICES 

Ha,  ha,  ha! 

58 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

SECOND     CITIZEN 

Who  planned  that  coat  of  thine? 

FIRST    CITIZEN 

In  what  King's  reign  flourished  thy  tailor? 

THIRD     CITIZEN 

Did  thy  clothes  come  out  of  Noah's  Ark? 

A  B  B  O 

Now  ye  should  all  be  grateful  to  me,  seeing 
that  my  old  homespun  doth  the  better  set  off 
your  finery. 

FIRST    CITIZEN 

Ay,  to  be  sure  it  doth.  And  no  doubt  thy  gar- 
ments were  fashionable  enough  in  Methuselah's 
time. 

FOURTH    CITIZEN 

Come,  let  the  man  alone.  He  hath  an  honest 
country  face. 

SECOND     CITIZEN 

Ay,  and  acres  of  honest  country  mud  on  his 
boots. 

59 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

FIRST     CITIZEN 

Hark,  they  are  at  hand. 

VOICES     IN     ANQTHER     STREET 

Long  live  Volmar!  Hail  to  the  conqueror! 
Long  life  to  Volmar!  Hail,  Volmar! 

(Enter  VOLMAR   riding   at   the  head  of  his   army 
accompanied  by  HESPERUS.) 

VOICES 

Hail,  Volmar!  Long  life  to  the  victor!  Glory 
to  Volmar  and  all  his  host!  Hail  to  thee,  Volmar! 
Honour  to  the  conqueror!  Hail,  hail! 

(VOLMAR  dismounts  and  is  met  on  the  palace  steps 
by  the  KING  and  QUEEN,  and  others  of  the  royal 
household.} 

KING 

Welcome,  most  noble  Volmar.     You  went  from  us 
Under  a  pelting  hail  of  men's  good  wishes,  • 
To  come  back  in  the  sunshine  of  their  praise. 

VOLMAR 

A  very  thunderous  sunshine,  Prince,  so  loud 
The  people  cheered  us. 

60 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

HESPERUS 

And  what  sound  on  earth 
Matches  the  crash  and  peal  of  a  people's  joy? 

QUEEN 

Our  welcome  of  you  is  in  softer  key, 
But  not  less  truly  Jt  is  the  heart  that  speaks  it. 

KING 

Forgive  me  that  I  rode  not  forth  to  meet  thee 
Beyond  the  walls,  as  I  would  fain  have  done; 
For  gladly  had  I  seen,  from  afar  off, 
The  mingled  dust  and  glitter  of  thine  approach, 
But  the  infirmities  of  this  vext  clay 
Here  held  me  bound  and  captive.    Take  thou  now 
The  thanks  that  unto  valour  and  lofty  service 
Are  due,  and  if  I  use  a  poor  pale  word 
For  want  of  nobler,  hear  thou  in  it  only 
Its  wealthiest  meaning.    I  am  forced  to  drink 
Deep  of  inglorious  rest,  a  thing  I  loathe  — 
For  in  my  youth  they  taught  me  that  to  rest 
Is  to  rust  also;   but  to-night  we  revel, 
We  feast  together,  thou  and  I  and  mine; 
And  we  will  talk  of  all  the  battles  thou 
Hast  fought,  and  the  great  wars  we  both  have 
known, 

61 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

And  the  great  warriors;   and  with  memories  such 
As  these  we'll  fledge  the  hours. 

V  O  L  M  A  R 

Ay,  sir,  we'll  make  them 
Flee  like  your  routed  foes.    And  sweet,  indeed 
To  us  that  long  have  fed  on  soldiers'  fare, 
Sweet  will  it  be,  to  gather  at  thy  table, 
Exchange  the  rough  life  of  the  camp  and  field 
For  princely  cheer,  princely  companionship, 
Forget  the  reek  of  carnage  in  the  breath 
Of  ladies'  lips,  and  speed  the  night  on  wings 
Of  wassail,  and  drink  down  the  morning  star 
In  cups  of  triumph ! 

A  B  B  O 

Go  drink  of  Hell's  flood  tide. 
(Plucks  a  dagger  from  his  breast  and  flings  himself 
on  VOLMAR.) 

V  O  L  M  A  R 

Off,  off,  vile  peasant! 

(Is  stabbed  and  falls.     Shrieks  of  women.     Wild 
commotion.) 

VOICES 

He  is  stabbed  to  death! 
Volmar  is  murdered! 

62 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

QUEEN 

Murdered  —  at  our  door? 

(The  KING  sinks  back  and  is  supported  by  his 
courtiers.) 

HESPERUS 

Seize  the  assassin. 

(Leaps  into  the  street,  followed  by  PARMENIO  and 
others.  ABBO  is  surrounded  and  stands  ward- 
ing off  attempts  to  overpower  him.) 

FIRST    CITIZEN 

Seize  him. 

SECOND    CITIZEN 

Show  him  no  mercy. 

THIRD    CITIZEN 

Despatch  him. 

A   SOLDIER 
Flay  him  first. 

FIRST    CITIZEN 

Rend  him  in  pieces. 

63 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

HESPERUS 

Stay!    Harm  him  not! 

A     SOLDIER 

O  Prince,  this  churl  has  killed 
Thy  noblest. 

HESPERUS 

(bending  over  VOLMAR'S  body) 
Are  ye  sure  the  wound  is  mortal? 

p  A  R  M  E  N  i  o 
Perhaps  it  is  not  past  the  healer's  skill. 

AN    OFFICER 

Yea,  't  is  his  heartblood  overflows  these  steps. 

A    SOLDIER 

Dead  —  dead,  my  lords. 

HESPERUS 

O  miserable  end! 
Thou  shouldst  have  fall'n  in  splendour  of  battle, 

slain 
By  some  most  glorious  sword  —  and  here  thou 

liest, 

Thy  flame  of  life  put  out  by  yon  base  hand. 
Who  art  thou,  wretch? 

64 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

A  B  B  O 

My  name  is  Abbo.     Where 
I  dwelt,  men  call  me  Abbo  of  the  Woods. 

HESPERUS 
Have  I  not  somewhere  looked  upon  thy  face? 

ABBO 

I  cannot  tell. 

A   SOLDIER 
Suffer  us  now  to  slay 
This  man. 

HESPERUS 

Again  I  charge  you,  harm  him  not! 
Stand  off  from  him.     So  great  a  murderer 
Shall  fall  not  thus,  beneath  your  casual  steel. 
No  single  arm  shall  hew  him  down  haphazard, 
Nor  aught  less  than  a  realm  and  people  be 
His  executioner;    for  he  shall  have 
Justice,  a  thing  more  terrible  to  the  wicked 
Than  random  vengeance.    Take  ye  him  away, 
And  set  strict  guard  on  him.    Deny  him  not 
The  smallest  customary  privilege 
The  law  decrees  for  men  yet  uncondemned. 
Omit  no  form,  fulfil  each  due  observance, 

65 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

And  let  him,  at  the  fitting  place  and  time, 
Be  brought  to  trial  and  judgment,  that  hereafter 
None  shall  have  cause  to  say  of  us,  'They  gave 
The  violent  up  to  violence,  and  delivered 
Unto  the  lawless  them  that  broke  the  laws.' 
Take  ye  him  hence  and  do  no  wrong  to  him. 


66 


SCENE   VI 

The  same.  Enter  from  one  side  a  countryman 
with  his  wife  and  child.  From  the  other  side 
GARLIC. 

COUNTRYMAN 

Good  master,  is  it  true  that  there  is  to  be  no 
shows  or  plays  or  feasting? 

GARLIC 

Ay,  the  King  hath  in  his  infinite  wisdom  forbid 
them  by  reason  of  this  great  man's  death. 

COUNTRYWOMAN 

We  might  as  well  ha'  stayed  at  home. 

GARLIC 

Have  ye  travelled  far? 


COUNTRYMAN 

A  matter  of  twenty  mile. 


GARLIC 

I  had  an  uncle  was  a  great  traveller  in  his 
youth,  but  he  made  a  true  repentance  and  died 

67 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

a  right  godly  man,  much  honoured  as  a  cheese- 
monger. 

COUNTRYMAN 

Was  not  this  a  very  great  man  indeed  that  was 
killed  hereabouts? 

GARLIC 

Ay,  he  was  a  very  great  man.  He  was,  as  ye 
may  say,  an  ensample  to  us  all.  Have  ye  not 
heard  what  a  world  of  trouble  and  mischief  he 
was  ever  stirring  up?  That  is  the  sure  sign  of 
your  truly  great  man. 

CHILD 
Mother,  what  is  a  great  man  like  to  look  at? 

COUNTRYWOMAN 

Lord,  child,  how  should  I  know,  that  never 
saw  one? 

CHILD 
I  should  fear  to  meet  one  on  a  dark  night. 

GARLIC 

When  I  think  upon  such  greatness  as  was  his, 
I  seem  in  mine  own  eyes  to  be  scarce  more  than 
an  ordinary  mortal.  Were  ye  never  here  before? 

68 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

COUNTRYWOMAN 

Never  in  all  our  days. 

GARLIC 

There  is  much  ye  might  see  with  profit.  Yonder, 
now,  is  our  famous  jail,  and  if  ye  go  round  by 
the  •  northeast  side  ye  will  espy  the  gallows.  A 
nobler  gallows  you  could  not  wish  for. 

COUNTRYWOMAN 

We  had  a  most  fair  prospect  of  it  as  we  came  by. 

GARLIC 

Well,  I  must  now  bid  you  good-day.  See 
that  ye  fall  not  among  evil  company.  These  be 
graceless  times  and  there  is  fearful  regeneracy 
around  us. 

(Exit) 

COUNTRYMAN  AND  COUNTRYWOMAN 

Good-day,  good  master. 
(Enter  from  opposite  sides  BRASIDAS  and  a  CITIZEN) 

BRASIDAS 

All  is  in  readiness.    You  will  not  forget  the  hour? 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

CITIZEN 

God  forbid. 

(Exit) 

BRASIDAS 

(to  the  countryfolk) 

Have  ye  any  friends  in  this  city  that  could 
protect  you  from  harm  if  need  were? 

COUNTRYMAN 

Nay,  sir,  we  know  not  a  soul. 

BRASIDAS 

There  may  be  tumults.  If  you  are  wise,  you 
will  go  back  to  your  village.  I  counsel  you  for 
your  good. 

COUNTRYMAN 

Sir,  I  am  sure  thou  dost.  We  will  go  back 
to-night.  I  would  we  were  home  now  on  our 
farmstead. 

(Exeunt  countrypeople) 

BRASIDAS 

Good  simple  folk,  what  mummery  and  trumpery 
they  come  hither  to  gaze  at!  and  at  home  they 
have  the  great  pageant  of  the  harvest,  and  all 
the  sweetness  of  the  earth  at  their  doors. 

70 


SCENE  VII 

The  same.     Night-time.    Enter  BRAS  ID  AS  near 
the  prison.    He  knocks  at  a  barred  window. 

BRASIDAS 

What  tidings? 

( The  window  is  slightly  opened  and  a  light  flashed 
on  his  face.) 

VOICE    WITHIN 

Is  it  Brasidas? 

BRASIDAS 

T  is  he. 

VOICE 

The  flax  field  is  in  flower. 

( 

BRASIDAS 

Goodnight. 

VOICE 

Goodnight. 

71 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

BRASIDAS 

So  all  is  well.    He  hath  the  signal-word 
At  his  tongue's  tip.     And  yet  was  that  the  voice 
I  thought  to  hear?    Yes,  all  is  well.     And  soon 
My  sworn  and  faithful  will  have  gathered  to  me, 
And  by  connivance  of  the  friend  within, 
Long  ere  the  dawn,  this  fortress  of  foul  night, 
This  house  of  groans,  this  place  of  shuddering, 
Will  be  delivered  up  into  our  hands, 
With  all  its  secret  archives,  that  will  show 
Tyranny  with  her  gorgeous  vesture  off, 
Her  very  self,  stripped  to  her  soul.    And  yet, 
Did  not  the  voice  sound  unfamiliar? 
No,  all  is  well;   misgivings  must  not  now 
Trammel  the  hot  wheels  of  Resolve,  when  fate 
Hangs  on  a  filament  of  gossamer. 
It  is  the  cavernous  and  deep-mouthed  night, 
That  gives  unto  all  voices  its  own  accent. 

(Enter  ZORAYA,   going  towards   the  palace  steps. 
BRASIDAS  conceals  himself  in  shadow.) 

ZORAYA 

Here  was  it  done,  here  was  he  taken  and  slain. 
They  have  not  even  washed  the  blood  away. 
Or  is  it  the  red  hue  of  porphyry 

72 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

That  under  this  perverting  and  sick  light 
Can  mock  mine  eyes?    Nay,  it  is  blood  itself, 
Haunting  these  steps.      But  Oh,  thou  murdered 

man, 

It  was  by  far,  far  redder  steps  than  these 
That   thou   didst   climb   to   what   men   take   for 

greatness. 

Thou  wert  more  cruel  than  the  forest  fire, 
Thou  wert  more  callous  than  the  lean-lipped  sea. 
And  thou  didst  climb  and  climb  as  a  sleep-walker 
May  climb  a  mountain  knowing  not  it  is  Etna 
Till  headlong  down  its  sulphurous  throat  he  falls. 
I  hear  a  step.     Is 't  Brasidas? 

BRASIDAS 

None  other. 

Z  O  R  A  Y  A 

Friend,  whatsoever  scheme  or  undertaking 
Thou  hast  in  hand,  attempt  not  on  this  night 
To  shape  it  to  a  deed. 

BRASIDAS 

How  hast  thou  heard? 
To  none  hath  it  been  breathed,  save  them  that 

were 
To  act  with  me. 

73 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

Z  O  R  A  Y  A 

No  matter  how  I  know, 

Or  what  I  know.     But  if  thou  should'st  proceed 
With  what  thou  did'st  intend,  expect  disaster. 

BRASIDAS 

Whence,  then,  does  hidden  danger  threaten? 

ZO  R A  Y A 

Enough 

That  something  thou  would'st  war  against  is  strong 
To-night,  and  watchful.    What  indeed  it  is 
I  do  but  dimly  see.     It  rises  like 
A  crag  that  hurls  back  a  besieging  wave. 

BRASIDAS 

I  know  thee  full  of  truth  as  of  strange  foresight, 
And   this   thy   warning   chimes   with    mine   own 

doubts, 

That  were  but  now  with  difficulty  stilled. 
If  I  put  off  this  enterprise,  what  then? 

ZO  R A Y A 

Have  thou  a  little  patience.     Let  time  work. 
Slowly  the  spirit  of  the  world  itself 

74 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

Is  bringing  to  the  birth  all  thou  did'st  dream, 
And  with  thee  or  without  thee  shall  thy  cause 
Prevail. 

BRASIDAS 
My  cause  is  nothing  less  than  man's. 

ZO  R A Y A 

Then  it  must  conquer. 

BRASIDAS 

Unless  Evil  have 

Indeed  celestial  warrant,  and  gross  wrong 
Be  something  at  which  deity  itself 
Connives.     But  that  I  '11  ne'er  believe.  —  Zoraya, 
There's  not  much  passes  within  palace  walls 
But  thou  dost  know  it  —  or  so  runs  the  rumour: 
What  hast  thou  heard  to-night  touching  the  King? 

ZORAYA 

At  first,  when  he  looked  on  at  Volmar's  death, 
Horror  quite  smote  him  down;    but  shaking  off 
His  weakness  like  a  mantle,  he  rose  as  though 
Calamity  had  girded  up  and  braced  him, 
Such  quick  rebound  of  spirit  he  hath. 


75 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

B  R  A  S  I  D  A  S 

Some  say 

He  carries,  in  a  ring  upon  his  finger, 
Drops  of  a  wondrous  potion,  a  quintessence 
Not  to  be  used  save  in  extremity, 
But  able  to  call  back  the  escaping  life 
Even  when  in  act  to  fly. 

Z  O  R  A  Y  A 

And  some  declare 
It  hath  quite  opposite  virtue. 

BRASIDAS 

Ah !  —  who  knows  ? 

Tell  me  one  other  thing.     In  these  last  days 
Do  any  tidings  of  my  father  reach  thee? 

2  O  R  A  Y  A 

He  is  no  more  in  prison.    This  very  morn 
He  was  set  free,  by  one  who  soon  or  late 
Does  from  these  corporal  bonds  enlarge  us  all. 

BRASIDAS 

What,  is  my  father  dead?    Dead  in  a  dungeon! 

(A  great  bell  tolls  the  hour  of  one.) 
76 


THE  HERALDS    OF  THE  DAWN 

Z  O  R  A  Y  A 

That  was  the  voice  of  the  new  day.     Farewell. 
(Exit  ZORAYA) 

BRASIDAS 

Farewell.    The  new  day.     It  was  time  the  old 
Went  to  its  rest.     The  new  day  —  the  new  day! 


77 


SCENE  VIII 

A  Court  of  Justice.  PETRUS  in  the  judgment 
seat.  ABBO  of  the  Woods  arraigned  before  him. 
The  QUEEN,  VENORA,  and  others  sitting  as  spec- 
tators. Guards,  scribes,  officials.  At  the  back  of 
the  Court  the  populace. 

PETRUS 

The  crime,  which  with  deliberate  fell  intent, 

Before  a  multitude  of  witnesses, 

You  did  notoriously  commit,  and  here 

Acknowledge  by  your  own  mouth  without  shame, 

Is  one,  the  like  whereof  hath  not  been  seen 

On  this  our  soil,  within  men's  memory. 

You  took  your  victim,  the  most  noble  Volmar, 

All  unawares,  in  the  great  hour  that  crowned 

His  glorious  life,  and  slew  him  on  the  steps 

Of    the    King's    palace,    with    the    same    stroke 

wounding 
The  heart  of  a  whole  people. 

(Enter  HESPERUS) 
78 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

From  that  hour 

Till  now,  all  justice  and  all  fairness  have 
Been  shown  to  you.     Nothing  which  might  avail 

you, 

In  this  your  trial,  hath  been  to  you  denied. 
You  have  been  proffered,  and  you  did  refuse, 
The  services  of  one  who,  by  vocation 
A  pleader  at  the  Bar,  would  have  set  forth 
Whatever  might  be  urged  in  your  behoof, 
With  suasive  art  and  skill.    Nought  now  remains 
But  to  pass  judgment  on  you,  and  apportion 
Your  penalty  to  the  greatness  of  that  guilt, 
Which  in  its  full  height  stands  before  the  world, 
Manifest  to  all  men's  eyes. 

HESPERUS 

Most  learned  Judge, 

I  crave  indulgence  for  what  well  might  seem 
A  lawless  trespass  upon  this  tribunal. 
No  least  infringement  of  its  sanctity 
Do  I  intend.    Indeed,  though  I  have  ne'er 
Sat  amid  those  who  practise  in  our  courts, 
Yet  have  I,  without  favour,  or  the  relaxing 
Of  due  and  rigorous  tests,  attained  to  hold 
A  mastership  and  doctorate  in  our  laws, 
Such  as  do  fully  entitle  me,  if  so 

79 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

I  list,  to  take  my  stand  with  professed  pleaders, 

The  brotherhood  of  the  forensic  robe. 

Nay,  in  the  quality  of  an  advocate, 

Not  else,  do  I  claim  audience  in  this  court; 

And  though  it  be  at  the  eleventh  hour, 

And  almost  one  can  see  the  headsman's  finger 

Trying  the  axe,  I  call  for  stay  of  sentence, 

Till  I  can  bring  before  you  certain  matter     f 

Unbroached  yet  in  this  trial,  but  none  the  less 

Most  pertinent  to  the  issue. 

P  E  T  R  U  S 

At  your  desire 
Judgment  shall  stand  deferred,  and  aught   you 

say 
Shall  here  be  gravely  pondered. 

HESPERUS 

Prisoner, 
What  King  is  he  whom  thou  dost  serve? 

A  B  B  O 

King  Othgar, 
Thine  enemy. 

HESPERUS 

In  whose  land  wert  thou  born? 
80 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

A  B  B  O 

King  Othgar's  land,  which  ye  made  war  upon. 

HESPERUS 
Where  was  thy  dwelling? 

A  B  B  O 

In  the  forest,  near 

The  boundaries  where  King  Othgar's  land  meets 
thine. 

HESPERUS 
(to  the  JUDGE) 

Now,  as  it  chances,  tidings  which  to-day 
Have  reached  us  from  those  confines  make  it  plain 
That,  notwithstanding  Volmar's  victories, 
A  state  of  war  hath  never  truly  ceased. 
Still  on  the  frontier  do  its  smouldering  embers 
Flash  daily  into  angry  life,  and  though 
The  enemy's  hosts  in  battle  on  battle  were  quelled, 
Their  Kingdom,  as  a  Kingdom,  ne'er  did  make 
Formal  submission,  nor  hath  any  pact 
Or  treaty  of  peace  been  signed,  and,  in  a  word, 
A  state  of  war  still  to  this  hour  obtains; 
Whence  I  contend  that  this  man's  act,  the  slaying 
Of  his  own  countrymen's  arch-enemy, 

81 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

Was  in  its  essence  a  pure  act  of  war, 
Entitling  him  to  no  more  grievous  usage 
Than  all  those  captives  of  our  arms  receive, 
Whom  we  condemn  to  labour  in  the  mines 
Or  at  the  galleys. 

P  E  T  R  U  S 

I  must  count  your  plea 

As  but  a  specious  one.    Nought  hath  been  here 
Adduced  in  proof  that  this  man's  action  flowed 
From  any  founts  akin  to  public  virtue 
Or  patriot  zeal.    You  give  to  his  deed  a  colour 
Which  its  own  doer  perchance  would  disavow. 


HESPERUS 

(to  ABBO) 

What  moved  thee  to  the  deed?    Tell  unto  us 
Its  story. 

ABBO 

On  that  border,  where  till  now 
My  dwelling  was,  there  grew  I  up  from  birth, 
And  lived  by  hunting  of  great  forest  beasts, 
And  selling  of  their  furs,  and  tusks,  and  hides. 
Alone  I  dwelt,  save  that  my  child,  my  daughter, 
A  damsel  ripening  unto  womanhood, 

82 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

Dwelt  with  me.    And  it  came  to  pass,  when  first 
Ye  marched  against  my  country,  that  your  armies 
Were  thereabouts  encamped  a  little  while; 
And  one  day,  toward  eventide,  the  maiden, 
My  daughter,  by  rude  hands  laid  hold  upon, 
Was  taken  and  carried  unto  Volmar's  tent, 
That  he  might  have  his  will  with  her,  and  there, 
Upon  that  night,  he  forced  her  to  abide. 
And  in  the  morn  she  was  cast  out  among 
The  soldiers,  to  be  slave  to  any  man's 
Desire.    This  was  I  told  by  one  that  knew. 
But  ere  another  sun  went  down  upon  them 
They  found  her  body,  slain  by  her  own  hand, 
For  she  and  Shame  could  not  live  on  together. 
And  in  the  woods  I  abode,  and  when  your  hosts 
Marched  back  that  way,  with  the  camp-followers 
I  mixed  unknown,  and  with  them  hitherward 
I  came.    And  God  was  good  to  me.    He  gave 
Into  these  hands  the.  man  they  hungered  for; 
And  I  did  take  and  slay  him  in  his  pride. 
And  could  I  slay  him  a  thousand  times  again, 
That  would  I  do. 


P  E  T  R  U  S 

Thus  is  the  prisoner's  act, 
Save  in  the  greatness  of  the  victim,  seen 

8.1 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

To  stand  with  common  crimes  of  private  vengeance. 
As  for  his  private  wrongs,  and  whether  these 
Do  in  some  measure  palliate  his  offence, 
With  all  such  questions  I  am  unconcerned. 
I  sit  not  here  to  deal  in  casuistry, 
But  to  administer  the  law.     His  crime 
Was  open  and  flagrant,  and  if  I  myself 
Did  inwardly  incline  to  pardon  him, 
I  could  not.    The  prerogative  of  pardon 
Dwells  with  the  King  alone. 


HESPERUS 

Then  to  the  King 
I  make  appeal. 

KING 

Thou  might'st,  with  as  good  fortune, 
Appeal  to  the  dead  hero,  that  lies  stark 
In  his  yet  unclosed  coffin,  as  to  me. 


v  E  N  o  R  A 
O  King,  remember  this  man's  mighty  woe. 


QUEEN 

If  thou  had'st  but  a  daughter  of  thine  own  — 

84 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

(throwing  herself  at  his  feet) 
Thou  hast!  for  this  thy  son  and  I  are  wedded, 
Though  never  until  now  told  we  the  world. 

KING 

What,  secret  spousals?     When  a  King's  son  mates, 
His  bride  should  be  the  daughter  of  a  King. 
Yet  never  saw  I  in  thee  aught  unlovely, 
Or  aught  unwomanlike  —  or  any  fault 
Save  what  is  common  to  all  thy  sex,  for  being 
Women,  ye  think  a  Kingdom  can  be  swayed 
By  women's  tears  —  ye  set  a  peasant's  wrongs, 
And  the  light  handling  of  a  country  wench, 
Above  a  mourning  realm. 

QUEEN 

Girl,  with  this  kiss 

A  queen  makes  thee  her  daughter.  King,  thy  wife, 
Thy  son,  thy  daughter,  sue  for  this  man's  pardon. 
Have  pity,  have  pity  upon  him. 

KING 

Let  pity  know 

Its  place  and  season.     Pity  gone  astray 
Hath  led  men  blindfold  to  the  wilderness, 
Whither  I  '11  follow  it  not.     This  miscreant's  hand 

85 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

Hath  robbed  me  of  a  man  whose  worth  to  me 
Was  that  of  armies.     If  I  pardon  him, 
May  Heaven  in  anger  — 

HESPERUS 

Oh,  speak  not  some  wild  word 
Thou  'It  wish  to  unsay. 

KING 

You  Powers,  whate'er  ye  are, 
That  weigh  us  in  your  balance  —  if  I  show 
Mercy  unto  this  murderer,  straightway  then 
Visit  me  with  your  signal  malediction, 
And  let  some  visible  stroke  of  instant  fate 
Wither  me  into  ashes,  even  here 
Where  now  I  stand. 

HESPERUS 

My  task  was  hard  before, 
And  in  a  moment  it  is  made  thrice  harder; 
But  come  what  may  I  will  not  flinch  from  it. 
Prisoner,  I  now  must  lead  thy  memory  back 
Unto  a  certain  morn,  seven  years  ago, 
When  all  that  border-forest  round  thy  dwelling 
Rang  with  the  hunters'  bugles.     On  that  day, 
There,  in  a  thicket,  and  by  chance  divided 
From  his  companions,  lay  a  stripling,  gored 

86 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

Deep  by  some  savage  tusk,  and  bleeding  nigh 
To  death.     And  thou  did'st  find  and  bear  him 

thence 

Unto  thy  dwelling,  and  did'st  dress  his  wound, 
And  with  a  rough  but  heartening  wine  thou  did'st 
Bring  back  the  life  that  else  had  ebbed  too  far. 
Hast  thou  a  recollection  of  his  face? 

A  B  B  O 

'T  was  strangely  like  thine  own. 

KING 
(to  HESPERUS) 

The  man  dissembles. 

Thou  art  mistaken  in  him  —  he  does  but  catch 
At  the  offered  cue,  and  play  up  to  thy  thought. 

HESPERUS 

(to  ABBO) 

Then  with  returning  breath  I  bade  thee  ask 
Whate'er  thou  would'st  in  recompense,  but  thou, 
Who  knewest  not  who  I  was,  would'st  only  take 
A  trivial  gift,  a  thing  of  little  price. 

ABBO 

Not  so  —  it  was  thy  jewelled  hunting  horn. 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

HESPERUS 

Whereon  I  bade  thee  blow  a  blast  to  call 

My  comrades,  which  thou  did'st;  but  when  they 

came 

Thou  wert  not  to  be  found,  and  they  declared 
That  something  either  less  or  more  than  human 
Had  tended  me  and  vanished. 

p  E  T  R  u  s 
(to  ABBO) 

Hast  thou  still 
That  hunting  horn? 

ABBO 

In  my  wood  hut  it  lies, 
But  long  ago  I  plucked  from  it  the  gems, 
And   sold   them,    being   in   need  —  two   greenish 

stones, 

With  figures  cut  upon  them.     One  did  seem 
A  huntress,  and  the  other  was  a  stag 
Torn  down  by  hounds. 

HESPERUS 

Diana  one  —  the  other 
Actaeon,  fabled  to  have  been  transformed 
Into  that  antlered  shape.     Here  are  some  gems 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

Whereon  those  very  figures  that  you  speak  of 
Are,  with  a  varying  fancy,  deftly  carven. 
Canst  thou  point  out  the  two,  if  here  they  be, 
Which  from  that  horn  thou  sever'dst?    This  is 
one  — 

A  B  B  o 

(examining  the  gems) 
That  is  the  other. 

HESPERUS 

True.     These  two  alone 
Are  portion  of  that  gift  which  Volmar  gave 
Unto  the  Queen  —  those  jewels  brought  by  him 
From  this  man's  country;  and  these  two  I  well 
Remember,  as  having  once  been  set  in  gold 
On  that  same  bugle  of  mine. 

KING 

Woe,  woe  is  me! 

VOICES     OF     THE     POPULACE 

Pardon  the  man.     Release  him.     Let  him  go. 

KING 

Have  I  not  called  on  Heaven  to  smite  me  down 
If  I  should  show  him  mercy? 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

VOICES 

Set  him  free. 
He  saved  thy  son. 

KING 

The  dread  Power  I  invoked 
Is  swift  to  take  us  at  our  word,  and  bind  us 
To  the  letter  of  our  contracts. 

HESPERUS 

King,  my  father,  — 

God  is  more  just  than  thou  dost  picture  Him. 
Dost  thou  suppose  He  is  a  bartering  God, 
That  makes  a  profit  out  of  our  poor  folly, 
Alert  to  seize  on  our  unwariness, 
To  catch  us  tripping  and  stickle  for  a  price? 
And  should'st  thou  dare  to  do  a  worthy  thing, 
Dost  thou  imagine  that  the  august  Begetter 
Of  all  this  world  shall  then  fall  short  of  thee 
In  righteous  dealing? 

KING 

He  hath  me  in  His  hold, 
And  thou,  who  art  young,  know'st  not  how  hard 

it  is 

To  slip  out  of  a  bargain  made  with  Heaven. 

90 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

VOICES 

Pardon  the  man.     Free  him.     He  saved  thy  son. 
_  (Enter  among  the  populace  ZORAYA) 

Z  O  R  A  Y  A 

Hear  me,  0  King!     There  is  one  only  way 
For  thee  to  cut  this  knot.     Lay  down  thy  King- 
ship; 

Then  shall  a  King  succeed,  who  hath  not  yet 
Pledged  him  to  cast  out  Mercy,  but  will  rather 
Beckon  her  to  an  almost  equal  seat 
Beside  great  Justice. 

VOICES 

A  word  in  season.     Ay, 
A  wise  word.     Abdicate.     Uncrown  thyself. 

KING 

Ye  cannot  be  as  weary  of  your  King 
As  he  is  weary  of  Kinghood.     I  will  do 
Your  bidding.     I  am  very  humble  now. 
See,  I  make  way  for  another  —  for  a  King 
Not  bound,  like  me,  by  a  rash  covenant 
With  the  exacting  skies. 

(He  breaks  the  seal  of  his  ring,  which  he  places  to 
his  lips.     He  staggers  and  sinks  back.} 
91 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

QUEEN 

O  help,  ere  he 
Be  gone!    Help! 

V  E  N  O  R  A 

Then  the  ring  had  poison  in  it! 

KING 

He  whom  I  sent  for  loiters  not,  but  hither 
Rides  at  full  speed.     Wife,  thou  didst  ever  have 
Great  patience  with  me. 

HESPERUS 

Can  we  do  nought  at  all 
To  ease  thy  going  hence? 

KING 

There's  nothing  needed. 
After  this  tangled  life,  death  seems  a  thing 
Most  excellently  simple. 

(Dies) 

HESPERUS 

He  is  dead. 

He  who  alive  had  much  infirmity 
Hath  strongly  laid  life  down.     Whate'er  his  faults, 

92 


THE  HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 

We'll  think  them  not  himself,  but  outermost 
Apparel  only,  and  fold  them  all  away 
In  silence.     As  for  thee,  who  standest  there 
And  seest  thy  vengeance  full  and  perfected, 
The  King  alone  could  pardon  thee,  and  I 
Am  henceforth  King.     Take  then  from  me  for- 
giveness, 
And  go  thou  back  to  thine  own  land  in  peace. 


THE    END 


93 


ii 


v 


